調 — “to investigate / to adjust” in Japanese

Grade 3ちょう, しら, ととの

Radical ⾔ · radical 149 The building block this kanji is filed under

“to investigate / to adjust” in Japanese is 調, read chou, shira, totono (ちょう, しら, ととの). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 調査 (survey).

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What does 調 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	調
Meaning	to investigate / to adjust
Readings	ちょう, しら, ととの
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	調査 (survey)

How to read 調

調 is read chou (ちょう) or shira (しら) or totono (ととの) depending on the word.

Words with 調

調査ちょうさ
体調たいちょう

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Kanji read the same way as 調

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Updated: 2026-08-28